The Nordic ski team concluded action at the Denver Invitational at Devil’s Thumb Ranch, Colo., this weekend as the Pioneers finished 4th in the overall standings with 752 points.
The invitational began last weekend when alpine skiers from eight universities and colleges competed in the slalom and giant slalom. At the end of the alpine portion of the meet, the Pioneers stood in 3rd place with 374 points, trailing Utah (456) and Colorado (429).
During Friday and Saturday’s competitions, which included 5K and 10K classical races and 15K and 20K freestyle races, the Pioneers recorded several impressive finishes but dropped in the team rankings, finishing fourth behind Utah (902), Colorado (842) and Alaska Anchorage (770).
The women’s team dominated the competition. Senior Kate Dolan had the best weekend of her college career as the top finisher for Denver both days and was named team MVP for the weekend. She recorded a 2nd-place finish in the 5K classical and a 6th-place ranking in the 15K freestyle.
Junior Makayla Cappel also made it into the top 10 both days. She placed right behind Dolan in the classical for her first collegiate podium, a “breakthrough race,” Nordic head coach Dave Stewart said, and came in 8th on Saturday in the freestyle.
“Today was a stellar day for the women,” said Stewart. “This was Makayla’s first career collegiate podium, beating out an NCAA champion to get it done.”
Other women who placed on Friday included sophomores Elena Breed (13th), Katie Gill (15th) and Jessica Jortberg (18th) and freshman Silije Wisgård (17th).
In Saturday’s 15K freestyle, all seven Pioneer women placed in the top 20.
“This proves their depth as a team and shows that they enjoy training and working together and are successful because of it,” said Stewart.
On the men’s side, junior Andrew Dougherty was the top finisher, finishing 8th in the 10K classical and 9th in the 20K freestyle. Freshman Jørgen Brevik was next in line, with finishes in 11th and 13th place.
“Jørgen’s finishes were impressive not only because he is a freshman, but also because he is from Norway, which is at sea level. That makes it that much harder to adjust to the elevation and be able to come in and compete well,” said Stewart.
The only other top-20 finisher from DU was sophomore Conor Wallace, who ended up 16th in the classical and 15th in the freestyle.
Although DU finished in the middle of the pack as a team, individual performances stood out, which will help to qualify a full team of three men and three women for the NCAA championships in March.
The next test for both the alpine and Nordic teams will be Feb. 4-8 when they compete in the University of Alaska Anchorage Invitational.
